Dr. Saini on increasing diversity in the urology work force

In this interview, Sumit Saini, MD, discusses the current physician shortages and the need to improve diversity in the urology work force. Saini is a urologist a Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Video Transcript:

We have to understand especially when we talk about urology in particular, there is a physician shortage. There is definite physician shortage, and as per the current data, there are only 38% of counties across the US who have practicing urologists. There is a definite shortage, so not just increasing the diversity, but we have to increase the work force itself. Increasing the work force means that we have to increase the number of residency programs and the positions, so that we have more people who can work and help and treat the communities. That's the broader picture.

Now, the second part is how are we going to improve the physician shortage? We can do [that] by accepting people who are internationally trained. They can increase the work force and they can work as practicing urologists, even if they are trained outside [the US]. In fact, recently, Tennessee passed a law in which they have actually allowed internationally trained physicians, not just urologists, but all kinds of physicians to practice, and they can skip or bypass the residency requirements to practice. That is going to improve the physician shortage. Now, when a person from a different country and trained in a particular work environment comes to the US in practice, it's going to increase the diversity because they have their own experiences, which is going to enrich the overall picture or overall outcomes. They can bring something new to the table. That's one way of increasing the diversity.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.